July, 2014 - Running The Country

BY CURT LIBBRA
News Leader
June 4, 2014

Source: http://www.bnd.com/2014/06/04/3240649/its-an-adventure-father-son-running.html

As the Wilcox family of Sitka, Alaska, travels across the country, they hope to sow inspiration in their children, opposition to genetically modified foods, and also, a little lettuce.

Brett and Kris Wilcox, two of their children, David, 15, and Olivia, 13, as well as their dogs, Angel and Jenna, a shelter dog they adopted while crossing through Texas, made a brief stop in Highland last week. They camped Thursday at Glik Park before taking off Friday morning on their way to Atlantic City, N.J.

HALF WAY THERE — The Wilcox family is making their way across the country and stopped in Highland last week. From left Olivia, 13, holds the family’s new pet, Jenna, while her mother, Kris, holds their other dog, Angel. The ladies drive the family’s truck and camper trailer while Brett Wilcox and 15-year-old son David go across the country on foot. The family is talking against genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as they move across the nation.
CURT LIBBRA/NEWS LEADER

The idea for their journey emerged a few years ago when Brett was reading an online article about a teenage girl who had made the cross-continental trek on foot.

“We showed that article to David, and he said, ‘I want to do that,’” Brett recalled.

And the thought never left David’s mind.

“He kept bringing it up,” his father said.

So the Wilcoxes started to put a plan in motion — although the thought of actually going through with it left them feeling some trepidation.

“It scared the heck out of us, because this is not a responsible thing to do,” Brett said.

Responsible or not, the wheels began turning in January. Brett and Kris both quit their jobs — his as a mental health/substance abuse counselor, and hers in a cleaning business. They flew to Salt Lake City and bought a truck and camper trailer, which Kris, Olivia and Angel go down the road in, while the boys and Jenna follow on foot.

They departed Huntington Beach, Calif., (about 30 miles south of Los Angelas) on Jan. 18, with a crowd of well-wishers to cheer them on.

“There were people there to meet us. We didn’t know any of them, just by Facebook,” Kris said.

They made nine miles that first day but have been averaging about 20 miles per day since, even with David nursing a hip flexor strain.

“If I wasn’t injured, I’d be going faster. We’ve just been walking (for about two weeks),” David said.

Going faster is the reason David wanted to take on the challenge in the first place. As a freshman this past year, he won his regional cross country meet. But he hopes for even bigger accomplishments.

“I thought, if I do this, I will come back faster and be able to beat more people,” he said.

But for Brett and Kris, there were parental, as well as political, motivations behind agreeing to the 3,000-mile undertaking.

Brett said he grew up in a working-class household where an experience such as the one he and his family are now on could have only been a pipe dream.

“I really wanted to help David accomplish a big dream… This is an opportunity to rewrite history, to say to David, ‘If you have a big dream, you can achieve it,” Brett said.

“It’s an adventure,” Kris said.

And adventure is something this family is big on. Brett and Kris, who moved to Alaska after having taught English in Japan for several years, also have two older daughters, both of whom they encouraged to do exchange programs. They did, one in Bolivia and one in Thailand.

“I think the world is just an incredible place. I want them to get out and see it while they’re young,” Kris said.

See it they have — 2,000 miles worth across California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri before hitting the Prairie State and resting in Highland.

“Every town has a claim to fame, and we’ve seen them all,” Kris said. “But a big highlight is the people we’ve met.”

As they meet new faces, they tell whoever will listen of their belief that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are harmful. To help cultivate their message, they hand out packets of organic seeds along their way.

A GMO-free world is something they strongly believe in. Brett has even written a book on the subject, We’re Monsanto: Feeding the World, Lie After Lie, which targets the world’s foremost GMO company. Just after walking into St. Louis on May 24, Brett and David both spoke at a “March Against Monsanto” rally at the company’s global headquarters.

You can follow the family’s travels on their website, www.runningthecountry.com, or on Facebook. You can also donate to their cause via the website.

“We are not even coming close to covering the cost (of the trip),” Brett said.

But that’s OK.

“We are doing it for faith, not for money,” Brett said.

Thanks to Faye Irey for being such a gracious hostess in Monongahela and for calling Chris Buckley at the local newspaper! Thanks to Chris for interviewing us. Because of good people like the Irey’s and Chris, we enjoyed our time in Monongahela. Our best to all of you!

By Chris Buckley
The Valley Independent

Sourece: http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yourmonvalley/yourmonvalleymore/6378419-74/wilcox-brett-david#axzz36Jbbjdmb

Chris Buckley | The Valley Independent

David Wilcox remembers the day a couple years ago when he read an Internet story about a 17-year-old girl who ran across the country.

“Without thinking about any of the challenges, the competitive part of me said, ‘I want to do that,’” recalled Wilcox, now 15.

His father, Brett, wondered if his son was prepared for such a challenge. But David Wilcox, who won a cross country title as a freshman at Sitka High School in Alaska, was undaunted.

Still, the teen learned there is a difference between the speed of running 5Ks at 5½ minutes per mile and the much slower pace needed to log the miles it takes to cross the country.
“The first day, we weren’t prepared enough and I thought maybe we made a mistake,” David Wilcox admitted. “But after that …”

Brett Wilcox notes that he is 53, adding with a laugh, “but my face is 2,600 miles old.”
The cross country trek has only been made by one other 15-year-old, Tobias Cotton, who did it in 1928.

“There’s a reason 15-year-olds don’t do this,” Brett Wilcox said. “It’s a brutally long and disciplined trip. David’s now done something only one other 15-year-old has done. That shows a level of tenacity and commitment.”

In January, the father-and-son team flew from their Alaska home to Utah to pick up a truck that is their support system. Brett Wilcox’s wife, Kris, is the driver. They drove the truck to Huntington Beach, Calif., and on Jan. 18, began their transcontinental run.

The trip was designed around David’s cross country season. He studied online during the spring semester.

“It’s been a run of faith — to believe what we’re doing is right and to believe that enough people would support us,” Brett Wilcox said. “For me, the greatest challenge is letting go and believing that God will get us safely through this with missiles flying by at 60 to 70 miles per hour.

“I just have to trust that God is going to take care of us.”

In Dalhart, Texas, on April 1, the father and son picked up a dog, Jenna, who has made the trip with them since. She sometimes rides in the three-wheel baby stroller where the Wilcox family stores items such as water and food.

The Wilcoxes arrived Monday in Monongahela, a stop ordained nearly six decades ago in Korea. Brett Wilcox’s father served in the Army in Korea in the early 1950s with Jim Irey, a Monongahela native.

Brett Wilcox visited Monongahela when he was just a child and recalled very little of the city. But as he saw it approaching on his Google Map app Monday, he made some calls and made contact with Faye Irey, the widow of Jim’s brother, Frank Irey.

The family stayed with Faye Irey overnight before hitting the road by mid-morning Tuesday.

Brett Wilcox didn’t get into running until he was in his 40s. “I was sitting in my office, sore from sitting all day,” Brett Wilcox said. At a trail near his house, he began running, starting with short distances. But one mile turned into three, and then 12 miles on weekend days.

Still that is a far cry from the minimum 20-mile days, day after day for six months. David Wilcox has dealt with a hip injury for weeks. His fourth chiropractic appointment with Dr. E. Joseph Burger in McMurray finally diagnosed and repaired the problem.

Brett Wilcox wore a tech running shirt that proclaimed their mission,“Running For A GMO Free USA.”

According to the Non GMO Project, “genetically modified organisms are plants or animals that have been genetically engineered with DNA from bacteria, viruses or other plants and animals. These experimental combinations of genes from different species cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding.”

Brett Wilcox said meeting people on the road, he has learned that the public opposes the use of GMOs.

“There’s no reason for anyone to go to the grocery store to buy GMO products,” said Brett Wilcox, who got into the cause for health reasons.

The trip also has given him an opportunity to connect with his son. “For me, I don’t think I knew David a fraction of what I do now,” Brett Wilcox said. “We’re together virtually 24/7. I’m finding out what motivates him, what he likes, how gentle he is, but the competitive spirit that drives him to run cross country.”

David Wilcox said he is also learning about his father. “I had faith he could do it, but I thought I’d be running ahead of him,” he said.

Last week, they averaged more than 25 miles a day — nearly a marathon each day for a week.
The goal is to reach Atlantic City on July 19, Brett and Kris Wilcox’s 25th anniversary.
“I want on that day to run into the ocean,” Brett Wilcox said. “That would be a great anniversary present.”

Chris Buckley is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-684-2642 or [email protected].

Month: July 2014

‘It’s an adventure’: Father, son running across the country

Cross-country run passes through Valley